Tag Archives: Susan Mallery

The Job of a Book Publicist

Posted by on

My day job is that I am a book publicist. By saying, “Day Job” that can be kind of misleading because it is actually an all day, all night, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week kind of job. I love what I do because I love working with authors, coming up with original, unique and authentic ways of marketing my favorite of all commodities…BOOKS! However, there are days when I don’t 100% love my job, when the frustrations outweigh the victories. Those are usually the days when nothing seems to be going right. No one is biting. There is bigger news going on in the world and editors and producers don’t seem to care a flying fig about a book…especially if that book happens to be fiction.

Fiction tends to have the wonderful ability to land like a lead balloon on the doorsteps of most editors and producers. They really don’t know what to do with it. And that’s where my incredible originality and overall ingenious ability to turn fiction into the most newsworthy of subjects comes in handy. I am not just trying to flatter myself, I  really am that good.

Who else can turn a book about a stay-at-home dad into a political platform? (Ad Hudler’s MAN OF THE HOUSE) or turn the promotion of a romance novel into a gender issue (Susan Mallery’s SUNSET BAY)? I brought a medical thriller writer into the Hollywood spotlight (Michael Palmer’s THE SECOND OPINION) and turned a columnist into a public promoter (Lisa Genova’s STILL ALICE).

This is why I love my job. I love finding the clever hook that is going to turn a book into a hot topic. I love making people become aware of an author or novel they may have overlooked. I love creating that one spark that can launch a career. (Lori Culwell and Brunonia Barry)

Romance Survives Recession

Posted by on

A recent article in The Scotsman points to the one thing that is going to flourish during times of economic instability…ROMANCE NOVELS!

It seems that as we fear our pension fund is nose-diving and we need a bridging loan to afford our weekly shop, the world of Italian stallion business tycoons, mysterious sheikhs and an endless supply of young virginal hotties for them to seduce, is truly irresistible.

The British romance publisher Mills and Boon, meanwhile, has reported this year as the most successful in its 100 year history. The publisher’s spokesman, Digby Halsby, says romances are “recession-proof, as people seek joyous relief from the gloomy news headlines”.

It is this guarantee of good surviving evil and love conquering all that has readers gathering their romance novels close and slipping beneath covers to escape from the peril of the latest economic report. But this isn’t just happening now. Historically, during times of economic upheaval, people would use romance and entertainment as a way of escaping reality.

“Remember that the time of the Great Depression in the 1930s was Hollywood’s Golden Age,” she says. “Films like the Busby Berkeley musicals took the world by storm, because people just desperately needed cheering up,” says romance novelist Sara Craven, who calls the romance genre, “Fairy tales for grown-ups.”

So if you are looking for a sweet treat to escape into, head to the romance section of your local bookstore. Because honestly, how can you be depressed when you have books like these waiting for you on your nightstand? Check out one of my favorites, Susan Mallery, for a sweet escape!